The Lure of a Woman
1921
Artist
Designer Unknown
DIMENSIONS
41 1/4 x 27 1/4 in. (104.8 x 69.2 cm)
OBJECT NUMBER
PH.2025.1673
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
United States
CREDIT LINE
Poster House Permanent Collection
KEYWORDS
Black, Children, Entertainment, Film, Man, Woman

Early Black filmmakers aimed to represent traditional Black families in an effort to counter the cruel reality of family separation that was a cornerstone of enslavement. Though The Lure of a Woman is considered lost and little is known about the plot, the poster highlights a middle-class, Black suburban family and emphasizes the romance within the narrative. The Lure of a Woman was the first race film made in Kansas City, Missouri, and featured a cast of local residents. One of the lead actors listed on the poster is Dr. A. Porter, an actual local physician who established a maternity sanitarium for Black mothers that provided services and guaranteed privacy. His position in the community as a medical professional who offered a safe haven for Black women underscores the wholesome nature of the film. According to a newspaper article from 1922, a print of The Lure of a Woman caught fire and was partially destroyed during a screening at Western University, a historically Black college. Only one reel of the film is known to have survived.

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